#even the hero is traumatised like hell

[severussnapemylove]

Sometimes I wonder if JKR even realises she wrote Snape as a victim of sexual assault. Because he unambiguously is, and she writes him as traumatised by the incident. So it seems mad to suggest that she might not have thought through the implications of her own writing, but if she did get it, I am baffled by how sympathetic she remains to James. Harry is never really made to confront how vile his actions were, because he looks for comfort from Remus and Sirius rather than telling Hermione who would react in horror and disgust, and he gets to skip over it completely in The Prince’s Tale. JKR clearly considers James a hero, and has confirmed that in interviews. She’s even more sympathetic to Lily, who is portrayed as an absolute paragon of goodness, morality and virtue, despite her being attracted enough to James *after* he publicly commits sexual assault on a less privileged kid to marry him! What a malfunctioning moral compass. JKR also has no sympathy at all for Tom Riddle Sr, who is a victim of rape, and his rapist Merope Gaunt, who is herself strongly implied to be a victim of incestual abuse, is condemned by Dumbledore and the narrative not for what she did to Tom but for not being as courageous as nice, pretty, middle class Lily Evans because Merope committed the crime of…dying in childbirth. The only conclusions I can draw from this is that JKR is the sort of ´feminist’ who doesn’t believe men can be the victims of sexual crimes, and that deep down she thinks being a member of the underclass who can’t drag themselves out of it alone is indicative of moral failure.

This! All of this!

I don't think she puts it together at all. She's incredibly tone deaf about a lot of the abuse she puts these characters through. And with the blasé attitude she has about male victims of SA in the books definitely goes along her brand of toxic radical "feminism". It looks like she just doesn't recognise the severity of what happens to these characters. On top of Severus's attack and Tom Riddle Sr, remember that Ron was roofied with love spell that was intended for Harry, and Moaning Myrtle is incredible predatory towards the boys. Sadly, this attitude carries over from the author to a chunk of the fandom too. I've seen so much dismissiveness of the assaults against the male characters, especially Severus. And it's even more disappointing when I see people who have experienced abuse saying that what Severus endured "didn't count" as abuse. Had someone today on another platform having an absolute meltdown at me, saying that what happened in SWM wasn't sa, and that he wasn't traumatised from his abuse and if his anger was caused by trauma then why wasn't Harry the same. Seriously, you can't tell another person that what they experienced wasn't "bad enough to be abuse", that's a very warped mentality. Survivors are supposed to support each other, not belittle each other's trauma. Also, what book did they read that they think Harry doesn't have issues from the life he endured? He has different issues than Severus, yes, because he had different life experiences and everyone's reactions to trauma are different.

"Merope Riddle chose death in spite of a son who needed her, but do not judge her too harshly, Harry. She was greatly weakened by long suffering and she never had your mother's courage."

WTF is this!!!??? This is just plain victim blaming. "Your mothers' courage"? Lily had supportive, loving parents, was loved by her peers, admired by her teachers, had a very comfortable, secure life. Merope was physically and mentally abused for her whole life. They really criticized the poverty stricken, abuse victim for not being as "strong" as the Mary Sue of the Wizarding World??? Toxic as hell. Personally, as someone who has dealt with self-harm, mental illness and generational trauma in my family, this attitude of "they weren't strong enough" is nauseating and infuriating.

There really is a disturbing trend of extreme poverty equalling a dead-end life with no hope. Which is again an extremally toxic and judgmental attitude and a very dangerous message to put in a book aimed to children. The attitude towards abuse, poverty and indecent assault of men is beyond problematic, not only in the books but in far too many members of the fandom.

I could rant more but this will go on for pages.

[elerrinacrownedwithstars]

I was thinking of Beren and Lúthien and how their story is so much more interesting than they get credit for. I mean, on the surface it reads like a fairy tale but it also elevates the rest of the story, it uses common fairy tale tropes but turns them upside down, and the way we see the heroine asserting her agency in this story is so fascinating. I think the story of Beren and Lúthien provides much needed contrast for the rest of the Silm, and both become more poignant because of this contrast. 

The familiar fairy tale goes like this: there's a a poor but resourceful peasant, set with a difficult task (which is in fact designed to be impossible to complete), but thanks to some magical help he is successful, retrieves treasure, and as a reward he wins the king's daughter and lives happily ever after as a prince, gaining all the earthly glory one can have in this life. But in the Tale of Beren and Lúthien, the hero is a traumatised outlaw, the king's daughter IS the magical help, she is an active and equal participant in the quest for her own hand in marriage, the treasure may actually be cursed, the hero and heroine die, and the ultimate reward is not a social rise from rags to riches. Beren does not become a member of the power-wielding elite of Doriath and he and Lúthien are not promised that their second life will be happy or long. But just that chance is worth it, and by choosing it they actually change the course of history. Lúthien is offered all the bliss that is possible to have in Arda, if she will give up Beren, but she decides that the love she has for him is still more valuable. And that idea, of loving someone so much that your love shifts the world, is so compelling to me. 

And I love that the story of Beren and Lúthien is also a rendition of Orpheus and Eurydice, and that just as the world was created in the Music of the Ainur, so is Lúthien's song powerful enough to change what those original notes dictated. She changes it with hope and a song. That is so simple and yet so beautiful, in the way some of the best myths are. (Insane that this is essentially a love-letter to Edith Tolkien.)

There is this fascinating contrast between Beren and Lúthien: at the time of their first meeting, Beren has lost literally everything and his family is either dead or lost beyond retrieval. Stumbling across Lúthien, he is fresh from terrible ordeals and suffering. But Lúthien's life has been full of happiness and without care, and she has lived in a literal fairy kingdom as the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar. She could have her pick of any prince of Eldar. But here she comes across this mortal, who has nothing to give except for his love and even that only for a brief time, and she is willing to risk all she has for it. The gall and courage it takes to take such a chance! She chooses this man and her choice changes everything. 

And that is brilliant! Because Lúthien starts with so little power and agency, and she is constantly belittled or even abused by those with more power around her. She is treated as a pawn, her will is undermined and she is coerced and imprisoned to make her compliant. But Lúthien shows her determination and courage in holding fast to her choice even when it's just her and Beren against the world. In the end, she wins agency and freedom to determine her own tale. In her beginning Lúthien is a maid dancing in the woods; by the end she will have faced Satan and death itself, and changed the world forever. Truly, to call her story "Release from Bondage" is more than appropriate. How insane is this all from Beren's point of view? He has lost everything, he is an outlaw, and has nowhere to go. What is left of his family is scattered who knows where. He has nothing but the clothes on his back and nothing to give. But here is this immortal princess, and she will go to hell and back with him! She will cross the Sundering Sea to bid him farewell! She pleads with inexorable death and for her, an exception is made!  It's so on brand for Tolkien that these two achieve with their love, and precisely because they act out of love, something that others with armies behind their backs can't even imagine doing.

Yeah. It's such a good, hopeful, bittersweet tale.

[featherstorm2004]

Nana Shimura's guilt

Ok, so I'm sure plenty of people have noticed that in the latest chapter Nana has been insisting that Izuku must kill Shigaraki and that he's a wall that Izuku doesn't have to climb over. And I want to discus that as whilst I certainly don't agree with her, I find her reasons for such a perspective to be fascinating.

But let's begin with a trend I've noticed in any chapters where Nana and the vestiges talk about Shigaraki, and that's the fact that despite originally agreeing to go along with Izuku's wish to save Shigaraki they constantly refer to him as an 'it' or a 'thing' more often describing him as something less then human. And whilst it may not be surprising for the others to refer to him this way, it is incredibly disturbing that Nana his own grandmother seems the most determined to remove Shigaraki's humanity.

In fact it appears to be a theme that anyone who had a personal stake in how Shigaraki came to be are the one's most determined to ignore any sign of personhood inside him. This can be seen with Grand Torino, who despite having come to the realisation that his and Nana's decision was a mistake, seems to double down and tries to convince Izuku that killing Tomura is the better option; hell, literally the moment Shigaraki's identity is reviled he is the one to convince All Might that he isn't worth saving and that no matter his bloodline he's still a villain.

And he says this with full confidence despite the fact All For One outright told them both that he deliberately groomed Shigaraki to hate All Might and only chose him to mess with his enemy.

Even All Might chose to give up on Shigaraki very quickly and hasn't even thought about him since he found out, which is honestly really sad because of all people he should have been the one who cared the most, especially since he knows one of the only reasons All For One chose to mess with Shigaraki was to hurt him.

Which brings me back to Nanna and why she is acting the way she is and honestly, it's most likely due to a number of reasons and guilt is likely the most prominent one. After all it was her choices which led to Kotaro becoming traumatised and despising hero's, and it was because she was a wielder of One For All that her family/Tenko was targeted. Now I'm not saying it's Nana's fault Kotaro became an abuser, after all he was a grown man who was more than responsible for the way he handled his trauma however, that doesn't erase the fact that she was the root of his hatred which he passed down onto his son.

Not to mention she knows that the main reason Tenko was targeted was for revenge against her for defying All For One, so not only dose she have to deal with the fact that her son abused his child to near insanity but also her mortal enemy, who killed her, her master and tried to kill her student also groomed her grandchild to hate her, hero's and to become his next vessel.

That a lot of guilt for anyone to be burdened with and whilst it isn't directly her fault, the birth of Shigaraki is a result of the legacy she left behind.

And she obviously can't cope with that because if she did, it would basically invalidate every sacrifice she made for the sake of protecting One For All, so what dose she do? Well she makes a very human mistake and choses to ignore it. After all if Shigaraki is just a monster, a creature beyond human understanding then she doesn't have to face the guilt, "it was out of my hands, what could I have done?" "there's no point in dwelling on what could have been".

Ironically it's the same response All For One had regarding his own humanity. Essentially she's taking the responsibility out of her hands in order to protect herself because if she dose acknowledge it, it would essentially be an ego death for her and well humans are naturally programmed to protect ourselves at all costs. It's not nice but it's the truth, which honestly makes someone like Izuku stand out more.

Izuku has no reason to sympathies with Shigaraki, he has no idea what he's gone through or the history behind his creation but despite that he is the only person on the hero's side who has NEVER ignored him. Hell, even back in the mall scene where Shigaraki practically had him a gun point he still took the time to listen to him and give him a proper answer to his question and clearly what Shigaraki said meant something to him as he ask's All Might about it later.

It's clear that ever since these two have met that for some reason, whether it be the legacies they both carry or the fact that Izuku is just an innately empathetic person, these two have shared a connection. It's like Izuku and Shigaraki said, it's almost like fate has brought them together and we'll just have to see however that played out.

However, it's abundantly clear that whatever might happen between the two of them for Shigaraki to be truly be saved Nana and by extension all others who have kindly rejected Shigaraki will have to eventually accept that he is in fact human. They cannot keep pushing things under the rug because Izuku won't let them.

[shelovesaesthetics]

⋆♱✮♱⋆ 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 ⋆♱✮♱

𝒕𝒆𝒌𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 (𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆):

jin kazama & lars alexandersson: 'tragic hero' lovers - depressed, traumatised emo kid with only one thing on his mind: revenge. and a swedish rebel leader who's a hopeless romantic. the first most likely would not form a relationship to avoid inevitable bad luck if anything happened to you, considering he's at literal warfare with his father and grandfather. or because he just isn't interested. the latter would be the only one within these men who'd actually take a liking to you openly as he is the least hostile male member of the Mishima family. you'd notice the first at a dojo, practicing his skills or sitting alone somewhere in a quiet area. you're obviously the one to approach him first, which starts out as a failure because he really isn't interested in you....yet. or just isn't. aaand you're also disturbing his peace. but let's just say hypothetically, if you were lucky enough and you somehow caught his eyes, he'll be captivated. he'll hide it and try to suppress those feelings of course but it's inescapable and now you've just stained the insides of that man's brain forever. for lars, it's unsure where and how you meet up, though he's probably more interested in an anime girl cyborg (jk jk). but when you get his attention, you'd sent his heart a-throbbing.

when these men loves you, they'll love hard. you hold a deep place in their soul, more than anyone else. jin's stoicism makes it hard for him to express, but he really fucking loves you. he'll try to act affectionate, like small subtle compliments or just being slightly more lenient with you. he's also the type of guy to give one of those 'fatal' hugs like as if he just saved you from something or if he had to leave you to go somewhere. but other than that, he'll keep his loving minimal as he's a shy guy. lars would be the same but with a less fragile approach; he'd just be more willing to be around you until you get the gist. they'd protect you as much, beyond their own capabilities, to keep you safe from their havoc lives. jin is literally the same guy who went & sent the earth into absolute hell to wake up a 1000 year old demon to kill his father and paternal grandfather. if you think he wouldn't do something similar for your love, you're dead wrong. when he avenges, he avenges almighty, and he'll sacrifice his life for you. and with lars, he'll do the same, minus the demon part <3

kazuya mishima: 'stone cold' lover - emotionally inept, stoic manly man; he's not the lovey-dovey type. he's a very busy man, his mind will be more occupied on world domination and ending his bloodline than 'petty romance'. but if you manage to win this man's heart, he'd be a sucker for you. he loves you, dearly,, severely, it's just... he's just not an emotional guy. sure, he's not completely devoid of intimacy and sensitivity, but his overall manly ego prevents him from embracing such things. you probably notice him as you were working at his company. neither of you would approach at first (you're afraid him and he's just probably insecure that'll make him look unprofessional). he'd dote you in secret, maybe say some subliminally caring things under the guise of 'chivalry' and his authoritative position as a ceo. he'll make sure security is always with you or himself. then when the relationship further, he'll let his guard down little by little, like he'll start holding the small of your back, or make sure you're pampered; buying you little gifts and all. and if he's feeling really good, he might even throw in flirts and compliments here and there. slap on the ass, even, with a mischievous smirk. but other than that, the most romantic things you'll ever hear from this man is his impending plans to kill his son. yippee.

lee chaolan: 'ceo/sugar daddy' lover - silver-haired demon. handsome, charming, luxurious, chic, rich ceo. founder of robotics conglomerate, Violet Systems, this man is the typical socialite nepo-baby, "born" into wealth. he carries and alludes an air of luxury, old money richness, preppy stoicism, vanity and eccentricity. he'd notice you if you were working for him in his company, probably as a biotech scientist or as his intern. he'd find you interesting and approach you. since this guy is already such a sweet talker, you'll quickly swoon over him and fall in love. lee as a lover would be every woman's dream come true. he's successful, a gentleman, educated, a professional fighter, owns a billion dollar industry, and is godly attractive. what more could anyone possibly want?

he's a very romantic guy, very. he'll always treat you right, any day, any time. take you out on expensive dates & holidays, buy you gifts, pamper you up with spa trips, give you money whenever you want, romance you like no other. you'll never want a another man again once you win him. he is the dream guy ™ .

[guplia]

Hello anon! First of all, thanks for the ask! (asks? idk I received three anon asks at almost the same time, it would be weird if they didn't all come from the same person lol)

fix recommendations? read mine /hj Sure! Just note that while I've enjoyed a lot of wips, I'm only gonna recommend completed fics rn.

Okay! Here's all I can remember rn:

"Clouds" by youngmoInactive (fanfiction.net):

Original summary:

"Even though he's a hero, he's still a human. CONTAINS CHARACTER DEATH. A nice look into Kai's perspective as he watches a close friend slowly lose a fight for his life."

Okay all I've gotta say on this one is that IT MADE ME CRY. OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Obviously I can't speak for everyone who read this fic but I think this will hurt Lloyd lovers. I have re-read it so many times to the point where I have half the fic memorised word-by-word. This is a must-read.

(if you're on the phone it's better to add "m." To the start of the URL)

"a day in the life of a fatherless child" by holographicknife (Archive of Our Own):

Original summary:

"lloyd has a panic attack *confetti* title suggested by my friend lol loosely based on a crack rp between friend and i   Warning for: mentions of suicidal thoughts and medication, explicit descriptions of a panic attack, including tight chest, difficulty breathing, nausea, and headaches. Proceed with caution."

This is a Kai And Lloyd fic, and I love Kai And Lloyd fics! Specifically ones where they address Lloyd's trauma from Morro and where Kai comforts him. So if anyone's into this sort of stuff I'd recommend it!

"A Courageous Escape" by Lilac_Lily234 (Archive of Our Own):

Original summary:

"In the midst of possession Morro hatred flows freely as he seeks to make Lloyd suffer for taking what he believes as his rightful title, but his cruelty know no bounds; Lloyd however refuses to give up but knows that time is running out, and in his desperation will find either salvation, or death.  - I don't own Ninjago, this is an au"

Ahem... once again, Lloyd goes through pain. A season 5 canon-divergent AU, from which my favourite part was... you guessed it! Lloyd having a panic attack and being comforted! But it's still a cool story besides too, season 5 being one of the best seasons imo.

While this fic is finished, the AU is not but I think this one has a good ending on its own.

"Out for revenge" by lloyd_slander (Archive of Our Own):

Original summary:

"Harumi’s plan to resurrect Lord Garmadon failed, during her time in Kryptarium prison she heard about Morro, the master of wind, and guy who had managed to make Lloyd’s life a living hell. Wanting revenge, she doesn’t stop from anything, not even from getting Morro back from the dead. Or The duo we always wanted, but never got. Lloyd is in for a hard time. Head the tags, guys!"

Okay. This one is rated Mature for drug usage and blood (there was nothing sexual though)

So it's a Morro traumatising Lloyd fic again, but this time he's with Harumi! So it's double trouble for Lloyd! (things go VERY BAD for him >:3)

Honestly I can't say much except read the fic, the summary's right there lol.

"Revealed" by Nation_Ustria (Archive of Our Own):

Original summary:

"Lloyd Garmadon is used to being hated. That's just how his life works—if someone knows that he's the son of the warlord who attacks Ninjago City on a weekly basis, they hate his guts. That's why he's made sure that his team—the only people he's ever been happy with—don't know who he is behind the mask, with the small price attached that he doesn't know their identities, either. It's not like they know each other's, anyways, so it's not a big deal. But then they find out. The fact that Lloyd's elemental power makes him an empath doesn't help, either. Basically the premise of the movie pre-reveal with show elements and personalities, and Lloyd's Green Power is him being able to sense and be influenced by the emotions of those around him."

Okay so here's a fic without Morro! (that's cause it's in the movie-verse) Another type of fanfic I like reading is where Lloyd in tlnm keeps his identity secret from the other ninja and it ends up getting revealed (like this one.).

I've seen this fic being recommended more than once and it's one of the fics with the most kudos in the entire fandom on AO3! So 2000 others agree with me on how awesome this fic is!!!

"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" by @crystaleclipse10 (CrystalEclipse on Archive of Our Own)

Original summary:

"Lloyd batted Red's hand away. “’m fine.” His head pounded, but at least it was quiet and dark. His hair tickled his nose. “What happened?” “We…didn’t get out in time,” Red whispered. “The missile exploded. We got everyone else out, though.” Lloyd relaxed and slumped forward as pure relief washed over him. They’d done it. They’d beaten Garmadon’s game. They’d freed the civilians and survived. Didn’t feel great, though. ~OR~ Lloyd and Kai get trapped under a building when it collapses, both injured. Angst and bonding ensue."

So it's another tlnm au fic! And this one has Kai And Lloyd bonding specific so I like it!!!

As I was reading this when it was still being updated I was very excited every time a new chapter would come out and my heart hurt for Lloyd each time! It IS worth the read! Just note that while tis fic is completed, the au is not.

"Officer Smith, Do You Copy?" by @hijabiwriter (same username on Archive of Our Own):

Original summary:

"Everyone has their reasons for becoming a police officer. Maybe they were forced. Maybe the profession stood out to them. Maybe they had some experience that prompted the idea of becoming a police officer. But that's only a few reasons. There are others, too. Like for instance, one of these officers is out for revenge."

This fic is entered around Nya, who's a police officer alongside Jay, Cole and Lloyd (for some reason Zane is not in this au/fic). Anyways her dark secrets are explored in every other chapter alongside the progressing story, and of course, an explanation is given to everything in the end.

On a personal note this is the fic where I left my first comment on my Ao3 account lol (the historic moment is on chapter 13!!!)

"Too Late to Say Goodbye" by @greenamethyst16 (same username on Archive of Our Own)

Original summary:

"Kai gets stabbed and Lloyd helps him... :D"

I think length-wise this is the shortest fic on the list but that doesn't make it bad!!! Basically Lloyd downplays his injuries and there are consequences... :D

"All the ways I say "I love you"" by @ninja-knox-ur-sox-off (Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21 on Archive of Our Own)

Original summary:

"Cole loves his team. They're his family and he does everything in his power to keep them safe and steady. He does his best to let them know he cares about them in every way but one.  Or  Seven times Cole couldn't quite say "I love you," and the one time he could."

Note: This story can only be read if you're logged in on AO3.

I like this fic because it encouraged me to remind my own irl friends how much they mean to me. In this story Cole believes that he's "the rock" of the team, and hence he doesn't show his emotions much. He's never told even one of them that he loves them and thinks that they deserve better than him. So stuff happens after that :D

Okay, I've read a lot more than this but this is all I'm gonna write about now cause I'm tired and I think this post has became too long. But if you wanna read more just check out the profiles of the writers! I haven't read everything myself but most of them have other good Ninjago fics to read!

If I've tagged you or mentioned your fic and you want it removed just let me know! I have no problem with removing it! :D

[bibibbon]

MHA chapter 427

I didn't think the chapter would be that bad but yeah it sucked ngl. 3 chapters left and I have no hope

Ok yep we're gonna start with Izuku and spinner. I guess I was expecting this conversation to be had but it all just felt iffy. Spinner crying out and lashing out was expected but it all feels hypocritical to me like spinner is also a murderer. At this point youre no better than eachother🤷‍♀️. Also the fact that no one tires to stop spinner from causing harm to izuku is low-key insane like?!?! Is it because you knew spinner who was bed ridden and heavily injured can't do it? Or is it because Izuku backed them aside and told them not to do anything as spinner was on the verge of attacking him. Also another point aside but I still don't get the whole shigaraki and spinner relationship I think it's underdeveloped and shigaraki saying his words only to spinner felt really empty. Spinner writing a book about the league to preserve their memories makes sense but glorifying tomura's actions not so much. Also does he even know if Dabi and the others are alive? Does he plan to contact them?

Let's GOOO corrupt hero society literally monetising a traumatic experience . Not sure what I was expecting when the chapter started but this wasn't it like how the hell are you gonna go around and ask the question who was Shigaraki tomura to you when people are probably heavily traumatised by their experiences. All of that felt like those fake and annoying tiktok interviews to be honest.

Overhaul deserves the worst forever yeah I really don't care for overhaul but I guess the ending was okay for him. Now that I think about it the anon that asked a question about enji and overhaul was really onto something because they really had similar endings. I hope that he never actually goes to apologise to Eri in person and that she forgets about him living her life.

Best thing about this chapter was naomasa . Yes Iam bias and every time I seen a naomasa fic with him being a mentor/father figure to izuku they never miss!!

Izuku again lacking intropsection and all might failing as a mentor yeah I cant say i didnt expect it but iam disappointed. Also is it me but did izuku get eye bags? Is horikoshi actually going to explore what izuku is going through or are we forever trapped not knowing? Also what about all might is he bound to a wheelchair like enji? It also seems like izuku and all mights relationship at this point is every much nonexistent

So bk and todoroki have fan girls?!?! The chapter ends in probably one of the worst tropes that I hate which is the whole fan girls thing. The fact that hero society still glorifies heroes is insane and it seems like those are the first years which the fact that hero schools are still having first years makes me head spin. Also shouldn't Izuku have fan girls if we go by the logic of bk and shoto having fangirls?

Really?!?! Is spinner the guy who also went through quirk discrimination calling shoji a "squid". This seems so hypocritical?!?! I also wish that it was both izuku and shoji that went there to meet spinner instead of it being just Izuku. Also shoji just deserves better than this!!

[sunnynwanda]

Trouble of Mind: Part 1

Part 2

It's been a week. A week since Hero did something unacceptable. It wasn't exactly forbidden, more like a rule they imposed on themselves for ethical reasons. No matter how much they needed information reading Villain's mind was always out of the question.

They did it a week ago. Amidst the battle, for no particular reason. A thought had flickered behind Villain's gaze only to disappear in the dark pools. And Hero followed. Unconscious at first, an impulse that drew them in. That was the biggest mistake they had ever made. And it backfired.

Villain had no idea why they jerked away so quickly and accepted defeat just so they could escape. The contents of Villain's psyche traumatised them. The things that Hero saw inside their consciousness were disturbing, but what they found deep in Villain's unconscious mind sent reverberating waves through their body. Hero hasn't been able to sleep ever since - countless nightmares served as their only companions for seven long and lonely nights.

Hero sighs, brushing their hair back from their forehead. The sleepless nights were taking their toll on them. Dark bags had settled under their eyes, heavy with the knowledge of the secrets held in Villain's mind.

They hadn't attended to any of the challenges presented by their enemy in the week that ensued. It was not because of the lack of proper rest but rather rooted in their inability to face them after discovering things meant to be hidden. They hadn't left their house at all for the risk of running into someone they knew. Hence why the knock on their door didn't surprise them. They remained quiet for a long moment, waiting for the person to leave, and when the knocking seized, exhaled in relief and returned to their couch for another attempt of rest to turn into torment.

Except it did not. Hero lets out a content sighs, turning so that they are now lying on their back. They yawn, stretching to snap their muscles in place. It feels like a heavy burden has been lifted off of their shoulders. It's only when they try to open their eyes, that they realise something is off.

"What the f..." A hand on their chest prevents them from sitting up, then presses them back down. What the hell?

"Shh, it's just a compress," a familiar voice fills their ears, only increasing the panic. "Don't freak out."

"Villain?" Their throat goes dry. They reach for the cloth that's covering their eyes and forehead. Villain is seated by their bed with a glass of water ready.

"Drink this," Hero shakes their head, propping themselves up against the headboard. With a sigh, Villain takes a sip. "See? It's not poisoned. Just drink it, it'll help."

"What are you doing here?" And what am I doing here? They could bet they were on the couch a few minutes ago. How did Villain get into their apartment and move them without them waking up?

"Helping you deal with the consequences of your own actions," despite the sarcastic tone - Villain seems genuine in their concern. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Pardon?" They jolt, almost jumping in place. No one knew Hero had that ability. Villain couldn't possibly know. Right?

"You shouldn't have read my mind, babe." Hero's eyes widen in shock. Villain shrugs nonchalantly, taking the cloth from their hand. "My past is too much to handle even for myself."

"How did you..?" A million questions are circling in Hero's head, yet they cannot form a single full sentence.

"Gosh, for a mind reader, you are quite dense," Villain shakes their head, then presses a palm against Hero's burning forehead. Their fingers are gentle and cold, Hero almost leans into their touch. "Did you think I wouldn't feel you in my head?"

"I-I'm sorry," their heartbeat is accelerating, which doesn't help the fever, so they take a deep breath, attempting to steady themselves. "I really am. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"I know." Villain dips the compress into a bowl of ice water, then brushes Hero's hair back, wiping their forehead and temples. Hero lets out a content sigh, allowing their eyes to fall shut. "Why didn't you come to me?"

"What for?" They can feel the cloth against the bridge of their nose, then right behind their right ear.

"Help, obviously," Villain tilts their head for better access. "When was the last time you slept?"

"You know the answer to that," is all they can muster, their body relaxed under gentle touches. Villain nods, ignoring the fact that Hero's eyes are closed.

"Put a cold compress on your forehead and ice cubes on your pulse points - that helps." They stop their manipulations, and Hero has to stop themselves from huffing in complaint. Instead, they open their eyes to look at Villain. "I use essential oils and sleep in complete darkness when it gets bad."

"Do you have them often?" Hero's voice is barely above a whisper, but Villain hears.

They nod with a heavy sigh and focus their gaze on Hero's ear, which is crimson red. They wonder if it's a reaction to the cold or their touch. "That's what failed brainwashing does to you, babe."

Hero freezes for a second. When they finally speak, their voice is coarse. "I'm sorry."

Villain offers them a quiet smile before getting up. "Come find me if you still can't rest," they say over their shoulder and vanish before Hero has a chance to thank them.

Hero knows they've made a mistake. A mistake that makes it hard to breathe and almost impossible to sleep. One that led them into the dreams and nightmares of their nemesis. One that gave them a chance to repair the damage they've unearthed and - potentially - heal Villain's troubled mind.

They know they've made a mistake, so when the sun begins to set on the horizon, they knock on Villain's door.

Part 2

Masterlist

[chaifootsteps]

Wanted to introduce you to a minor stolitz rewrite or I guess, interpretation? I came up with that has a blitzfizz angle if you squint, because I think you might like it.

Some time ago there was a deep and vulnerable moment which is rare from Brandon Rogers, when he was being interviewed by Anthony Padilla, he talked about being assaulted by a beating, and then getting up on stage for standup minutes after. But the audience never noticed. He said when performing for audiences it brings him a sense of fulfilment to know that during the few minutes or hours of that show he gets to forget about his pain, and the audience gets to have fun and enjoy the show and forget about theirs. Those moments of escapism were precious, and I wrote that for Blitzø, this was the extent of his affection for stolas. He’s basically an audience member, a loyal fan. This is why when stolas wants real devoted personal love, it ruins it for Blitzø because it feels like a fan who got a backstage pass once, and maybe even an autograph or handshake, but for some reason thinks this makes them real friends/lovers. And he keeps coming backstage without a pass, and doesn’t understand why security stops him, he even shows up to his house after the show ends. With no idea what he’s done wrong when cops turn up (this type of thing happens all the time to lonely people with mental illness, and is the type of moral complexity I think would suit stolas, someone who is dangerous but still sympathetic) And blitzo feels so much guilt and pity at this lonely, socially inept person, and not to mention feels the flattery of having a fan for once, he finds it hard to get really mean about it. But when stolas gets angry he feels genuine fear and does whatever he can to appease him. Which terrifyingly, is interpreted as reciprocation.

For “One Night Only” like his circus poster in his office suggests, they both got to escape and pretend-to be this powerful, seductive sexual being bringing amazement to a Prince who in turn, gets to pretend his true love has arrived to save him. But just like the circus episode, stolas got too obsessive with a parasocial attachment. He wanted to take Blitzø home, to keep him in his bedroom, to take out and play with whenever he needed. Forever. For Blitzø it was like encore after encore, a show that doesn’t end. And he just wants to go home to his partner, the other kid waiting for him at the circus to play horsies again, and the only other imp in the world who truly understands how it feels to be used as a toy (hell, he was turned into one!!)

And I think like the sex toys running out (if I can try to turn even that into a metaphor) he has exhausted all of his tricks and doesn’t have any more material for stolas. But the show must go on, he thinks, that is until stolas finally sees the cracks in him, and against his own wishes for this to be his soulmate, his attraction to Blitzø starts to die. Because it was artificial from the start. And he doesn’t like the real person as much as he thought. They’re just deeply incompatible. Which breaks both of their hearts, for very different reasons.

When stolas asks him why he ever gave him a night at all or showed kindness to him, someone who now has nobody, Blitzø says nothing and just calmly looks at the photo of stolas smiling holding Octavia, then looks back to stolas. As if silently telling him he knows he’s not a complete monster, that it’s not all over, he is capable of finding real connections with others, he has his daughter. His real ‘hero’ and light in the dark. And knowing how much this relationship has hurt and traumatised Octavia, its the nail in the coffin. There is hope for stolas, but not for this relationship.

In the end he gives him back the book, thanks him for their time together, and for loving him, even when stolas is protesting (kinda like Diane to Bojack) his final action to him is a bow, his last words to stolas before leaving his life forever are “You will be okay”

Goddamn, Anon...you owe me a box of kleenex for this one.

Thank you for this. It's gorgeous and perfect and I wish with all my heart that it were canon.

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

Randomly, I had a thought on how likely it would have been for different characters to have fallen for Cloud and why they would have fallen for him and now I’m here! Once more! So going in no particular order let us begin (this is just the main sort of batch of characters, let me know if you wanna see any of the side ones like the Turks or Rufus)

Also keep in mind this is just me, my opinions and my blog. Don’t like, don’t read, don’t bring your ship hating or ship wars in here or I’ll punch you. Please and thank you!

Zack: I am being mildly biased with my own shipping head canons when I say that he would’ve fallen head over heels upon first meeting, but also it is canon that he was a chronic flirt and had multiple ‘girlfriends’. So I say it’s not entirely out of the question.

Sephiroth: before he lost his mind there wasn’t a chance in fucking hell it would’ve happened I think. Besides the whole difference in rank thing Seph was already far too traumatised and probably would have just seen Cloud as another guy that saw him as nothing but a war hero. He might have entertained the thought of sleeping with him, maybe, but I really don’t think it would’ve happened. We all know how he is after he loses his mind so I don’t think I gotta delve into that.

Angeal: probably not. He definitely would’ve taken some sort of liking to Cloud, whether as a friend he could find good conversation with or a sort of protege like Zack, I dunno. But ultimately I don’t reckon they’d have too much of a connection, not without some form of poly going on or something. Which leads me to this next one.

Genesis: I for sure reckon he would’ve fallen for Cloud. It would’ve been fucking messy and drama filled and more than likely would have stemmed from an enemies to lovers cause they’re both so incredibly stubborn and head strong, but they would end up loving each other. They’d definitely still butt heads and get into useless arguments but there were far too many pros to even think of giving up on the other.

Aerith: without the whole Cloud resembling Zack thing, maybe. There’s a chance that she could have but it would have been slow. Would’ve been one of those things where they hung out and talked and did all this stuff together so often that one day she would’ve turned around and realised she was in love with him. Like a full on ‘oh’ moment.

Tifa: this is another thing that’s mildly biased based off my own head canons but I honestly don’t think Tifa would have fallen for Cloud. If not for the Nibelheim incident and Cloud being exactly what she always wished for as a kid I do not think it would’ve happened.

Barret: definitely fucking not 😂 besides the fact that he hated Cloud when they first met, Cloud is so far beyond his type it’s not even funny. Plus I feel like Barret would either be one of those guys who’s like ‘my wife was the only woman for me’ or he just wouldn’t wanna put Marlene through the stress of suddenly gaining another parent.

Biggs: maybe. Like a heavy ass possibly honestly. I feel like it would have been the most generic romance in history and it would’ve been so unbelievably normal and it most likely would have been short lived, but maybe.

Wedge: I’m not gonna lie. Wedge gives me aromantic vibes for some reason. I dunno why, he just does. He’d definitely befriend Cloud (eventually) and be willing to wingman him or something if he needed it but yeah, I don’t think Wedge would’ve fallen for him.

Jessie: she absolutely loves flirting with Cloud and teasing him and being all over him, but she is definitely a lesbian. Don’t even argue with me! That woman is a full fledged lesbian and she only flirts with guys so heavily cause it’s funny to watch them scramble.

Vincent: nah, not really. Would they have a friends with benefits thing? Probably. But I feel like Vincent is far too emotionally unavailable and traumatised to even entertain the idea of being with someone again.

Cid: I feel like this is similar to Angeal. He’d definitely like Cloud and they’d bond over mechanic shit and complain about the people they chose to surround themselves with, but he definitely wouldn’t fall for him either. Cloud is way too young for him and not nearly his type in a guy. Plus he has a wife.

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

Every Single (Hermitcraft/etc.) AU Idea I Have Ever Had

This is... what it says on the tin. It is a long post. I do not expect it to get any traction. I am doing this for autism reasons. Some ideas are actually excluded because there is zero substance to them. Sorry I don't think anyone wants to hear my 1000 'what if Grian... was sad' ideas.

Many of these (most of them) were made in collaboration with @angeart which explains why they are so sad and also Mostly Scarian. It doesn't always say it's shipping but it usually is. We are Grian Girlies. Sorry.

If you want to hear more about ANY of the ideas listed here, feel free to shoot me an ask :) I LOVE RANTING ABOUT THESE IDEAS. There are even links to fics where they exist.

Each idea needs different warnings so any major CWs will be listed at the start of each summary so you can skip any one you want.

It begins... below the cut

COMMS AU

READ THE FIC HERE

WHAT THE HELL IS COMMS AU?

My main multichapter fic, ongoing and insane

A multiverse nonsense trip wrapped in an audio transcript format

Grumbo Apocalypse Monster AU

CW: minor character death, existential dread, gross / graphic imagery

Grian is a shapeshifting monster drawn into human life by the apocalypse, and Mumbo is a human who attempts to survive the horrors

Main characters: Grian & Mumbo (duh!)

Side characters: Pearl, Scar, Cub, Joe, Cleo, Xisuma, “Evil Xisuma”, Martyn

Tumblr Masterpost

READ THE FIC HERE

Vex Hunger Kidnapping Griangst AU

CW: discrimination, starvation, cannibalism (non-consensual), gore

Grian (avian) and Cub (vex) are kidnapped by scientists on their way back from MCC. They are kept in a cell where Cub is starved until he goes feral and starts attacking Grian out of Vex instincts.

Also eats Grian a lot. Don't worry, Grian can respawn, but he respawns back in the cell in a puddle of his own blood, only to be torn to pieces again.

They are rescued by the hermits. Now traumatised! Yippee!

Things get worse before they get better

Basically, Grian’s self-destructive trauma urges: the movie

Main characters: Grian, Cub, Scar, Mumbo

Side characters: Hermit ensemble

Evil Scar Corruption AU

CW: mind control, kidnapping, torture, amputation, manipulation / mindbreak

Scar gets corrupted by the Vex which take over his mind. His love for Grian is mutated into selfish obsession, and eventually he kidnaps and tortures him in an attempt to make him stay forever.

Cuts off his wings and everything. (they grow back)

Eventually the hermits find out and lock Scar up while trying to heal Grian - but Grian broke somewhere along the way and now thinks what Scar was doing was true love.

Scar comes back to his senses and the guilt hits him like a truck. Eventually he leaves the server and runs into his own Bad Relationship but don't worry about this.

Grian’s self-destructive urges: the sequel

Main characters: Scar, Grian

Side characters: Xisuma, Cub, Pearl, Mumbo, hermit ensemble

The Facility AU

CW: near-death experience

Xisuma runs a top secret facility dedicated to the safety and containment of supernatural/otherworldly beings and entities.

Kind of like SCP but nicer.

Field workers Scar, Grian, and Cub are continuously put through the wash while other facility employees (namely Etho and Bdubs) have quirky little romance arcs. 

Grian nearly dies because of a swimming pool btw. There is so much to this fic I cannot possibly explain here.

Main characters Arc 1: Scar, Grian, Cub, Mumbo

Main characters Arc 2: Scar, Grian, BigB, Cub, Mumbo

Side characters Arc 1: Xisuma, Keralis, Zedaph, Joe, Cleo, Bdubs, Etho

Side characters Arc 2: Martyn, Scott, Ren, Tango, Impulse, Gem, Skizz, False

Superheroes and Villains AU

CW: not mentioned here but there is gore / surgery and alien mushrooms that kill people

In the city of Blackstone, vigilante HotGuy works alongside the Hero Bureau to catch villains and keep the city safe.

Between trying to save the person behind Mother Spore, and rebuilding his old friendship with Cub - now turned villain - HotGuy must look through the gaps of the Hero Bureau to see the corruption lurking within.

Main characters: Scar, Grian, Cub, Pearl, The Watchers

Side characters: Mumbo, Joe, Cleo, Gem, Ren, Doc, Keralis, Beef, Tango, various hermits

Read the summary here

Hero AU 2

CW: discrimination

Grian and Scar live in a city where hybrids are second-class citizens

Grian is an activist who gets beaten up and arrested a lot

Scar is secretly the superhero HotGuy, who is controlled by the city's government - as HotGuy, he pretends to be human

Grian thinks HotGuy should use his power for good, and dislikes HotGuy because he upholds the human power structure - he does not know Scar is HotGuy

Main Characters: Scar, Grian

Side Characters: ?

Respawn Enabled Hybrid Farms AU

CW: extreme dehumanisation, cannibalism, abuse of power

Global Moderators have passed cross-server laws denying the rights of hybrid players and placing most hybrids in farms to be butchered like cattle for food and resources.

Grian, born and raised on one of these farms, escapes to Hermitcraft where he learns how to be a person with agency and freedom (ahem. only to have it taken away again. and again...).

Main characters Arc 1: Grian, Mumbo, Ren, Scar

Main characters Arc 2: Grian, Pearl, Mumbo, Scar, Ren, Xisuma, Evil X, Keralis

Main characters Arc 3: Grian, Mumbo, Scar, Pearl, Gem, Ren, Impulse, Doc, Cub, Xisuma

Side Characters: hermit ensemble

Hybrid Farms (Worse Version)

CW: mentioned death, extreme discrimination, cannibalism

Hybrids are farmed as food but this time there is no respawn

More of a modern AU

READ IT HERE

Main characters: Mumbo & Grian

Side characters: Life series ensemble

'Introduction to Being a Person'

CW: human experimentation

In a desperate attempt to subdue the rebelling masses, a corrupt government begins experimenting on people to create war machines. In the dystopian wastes of civilization, escaped experiment Tango must grapple with his identity and newfound freedom, while turf wars and deception lie around every corner.

Main characters: Tango, Grian, Ren

Side characters: Experiment Army: Scar, Cub, Cleo, Joe, Gem, Pearl; Steel Wheels: False, Etho, Keralis; Helping Hands: Iskall, Stress, Xisuma; Connected Mankind: Mumbo; Last Stand: Doc, Bdubs; Unaffiliated: Impulse, Zedaph

Tomorrow AU

CW: death / existential themes, human experimentation / dehumanisation, torture

Based very loosely on World Of Tomorrow by Don Hertzfeldt

Scar, co-CEO of ConCorp, buys a body that was grown in a lab with the intention of dissecting it

Despite the body being suspended in fluid all its life, it wakes up before Scar can do anything - it's alive, but doesn't know how to speak or move

Later, this lab-grown creature becomes Grian, learns how to speak and walk, and finds out about the impending heat death of the planet

Meanwhile, we have unethical treatment of prisoners, moon science, dogman and the existential existence of clones

Main characters: Scar, Grian, Bdubs, Doc, Ren, Pearl

Side characters: [The Prison Cube], Mumbo, Xisuma, Cleo, Etho, Cub

Secret Life Watcher AU

CW: none?

All the life series players find out Grian is a Watcher at the start of Secret Life and then they are mean to him. 

Also Grian may become evil at some point. But he deserves to have a villain arc.

Main characters: guess

Elliot Smith AU

CW: major character death, self loathing, existential themes

Based on my Watcher Lore

READ THE FIC HERE

In which Grian is killed at the end of Evo and his code and memories are placed into a Watcher version of him, creating a Watcher-Vessel in a process called ‘Transfer’

Mostly about both the grief of Grian’s old friends as they discover what happened to him, and the ethical / philosophical debate Grian has with himself about who he is and why people are upset about it - he's the ship of theseus kind of

Called ‘Elliott Smith AU’ because each installment in the series has a different Elliott Smith song title as a title

Main characters: Grian(?), Pearl, Jimmy, Scar, Xisuma, Martyn

Side characters: Watchers, Listeners, BigB, Scott

Elliot Smith AU AU - a different timeline

CW: major character death, existential themes

Grian gets taken by the Watchers after Limited Life and they kill him & replace him with a perfect copy of himself. Moral, ethical, and emotional dilemmas unfurl. Offshoot from my main Watcher-Grian fic (Elliott Smith AU) of the same concept just with a different timeline as to make it way more evil.

Main characters: Grian(?), Scar, Mumbo, Pearl

Side characters: hermit ensemble

Elliot Smith AU AU - a worse outcome

CW: major character death, existential themes

An offshoot of the Elliott Smith AU where the hermits (or some of them) are much more aware of what a Watcher is and are much more afraid when Grian is found out

Grian is put in a code prison while the hermits figure out what to do with him (delete his code entirely, ban him, let him stay)

Many conflicting opinions. Many horrible things said and done

Main characters: Grian, Xisuma, Pearl, Scar, Mumbo, Joe Hills somehow

Side characters: Hermit ensemble

Elliott Smith AU: Continuation 1 - BigB

CW: major character death, existential themes

BigB is a Listener - he went through a process called 'Hollowing' which is similar to Grian’s ‘Transfer’ (death and copying) except (as far as BigB is aware) it did not kill him, simply re-made him

Grian doesn’t agree that BigB didn’t die

A lot of philosophical debates here

Main characters: BigB, Grian

Side characters: Martyn, Pearl, Joel, Jimmy, Listeners, Scar

Elliott Smith AU: Continuation 2 - Scar

CW: discussions of major character death, existential themes, betrayal

After winning Secret Life, Scar is taken by the Watchers and nearly turned into one before Grian, Martyn, BigB and the Listeners intervene 

However Scar’s code is damaged and decaying, and Grian needs answers to fix it before Scar is lost forever

He seeks out the Watchers and is told to bring Martyn to them in exchange for Scar’s life being saved

Grian does this, like the sad little bastard he is

Queue Martyn escaping the Watchers anyway and now everything is awful and no one likes anything that has happened

Main characters: Scar, Grian, Martyn

Side characters: BigB, Pearl, Xisuma

Zombie Apoc AU

CW: death, zombies, I think you get the idea

Zombie apocalypse but Grian and Scar just moved in together (gay intent).

Scar gets turned, Grian keeps him in the basement and lures survivors in to keep Scar fed, despite Scar asking Grian to kill him before he turned.

Mumbo shows up and everything goes wrong. And maybe some things go right.

Main characters: Grian, Scar, Mumbo (are you tired of seeing their names yet?)

Side characters: Cleo, Etho, Bdubs; Zedaph, Cub

Zombie Apoc AU 2: this time it's sadder

CW: zombies, death, suicidal thoughts

Long story short is that Grian gets bitten

Scar and Grian live in an abandoned apartment block called ‘Desert View Apartments’ (though they move to Jimmy's farm before Grian gets bit)

Ren, Martyn, Impulse and Skizz hunkered down in the ‘King’s Court Shopping Centre’

Cleo, Bdubs, and Etho are taking refuge in an old castle-turned-museum 

Jimmy, Scott, and Tango live on a farm together

Joel, Lizzie and BigB live in the woods and use plants to stave off the disease

Gem is a travelling mercenary with a pet reindeer who believes the only way to save society is to eradicate all zombies and infected people

Pearl is a nomad with a pack of stray dogs

Mumbo is some guy I'm sure he has a role somewhere

Main characters: Scar and Grian

Side characters: the rest of these idiots

Space Age AU

CW: space colonisation, slavery, death, military stuff

Humans have colonised a large chunk of the galaxy

Grian comes from a group of humans who were against the human empire - said group was attacked, slaughtered, and disbanded

Scar used to be a part of the empire’s militia (though he is an alien, not human) but is no longer part of it

Mumbo does not know whether he is an android or not - androids are a slave class / killed on sight since their war with humans, and humans need to carry ID to prove they are human. Mumbo has an ID, but the tests for humans vs. androids are basically meaningless and inaccurate

Pearl was part of the same group as Grian, was captured and sold into servitude

Scar stows away on Grian’s spaceship (stolen) - Grian freaks out but they become somewhat friends

Scar and Grian go to a planet notorious for hating humans, because Scar wants a job there and Grian wants to get rid of him - Grian gets caught and thrown in prison 

Scar meets Mumbo, a member of the planet’s court, and they work together to break Grian out and the three of them escape 

They journey through space, meeting up with folks like Tango - eventually the gang find a ship run by Watchers (a powerful alien race) and they discover Pearl on board

Main Characters: Grian, Scar, Mumbo, Pearl

Side Characters: Tango, Ren, Jimmy, Scott, Martyn, Gem

Hunger Games AU (Based on Floor 6, a now-deleted Lunch Club AU)

CW: hunger games, unnamed character death, cannibalism, trauma x 10000

Hunger Games universe but the winners all live in a big tower apartment complex with each floor being a new decade of winners

Grian is the most recent winner!

Yes I put him in district 9 for a bread joke.

Scar is my favourite victor because he ate people.

Main characters: Tango (70; 3 - electronics), Ren (71; 2 - weapons), Pearl (72; 10 - animal farming), Scott (73; 4 - fishing), Martyn (74; 4 - fishing), Scar (75; 10 - animal farming), Gem (76; 7 - lumber), Grian (77; 9 - grain), Joel (78; 2 - weapons); BigB (79; 9 - grain), Mumbo (avox, 9 - grain)

Grian Chrysalis AU

CW: insect stuff, body horror

Note I am autistic about this one.

Grian is a weird little guy who has to form a chrysalis and turn into goo before reforming

He needs to do this every few years to keep himself alive, as he is a unique cross between Watcher and player - except no one on Hermitcraft knows this about him, and Grian may have gotten distracted building for so long he forgot to take a vacation away from the server in time to go Bug Mode

So all they know is Grian is missing, and Xisuma is getting corrupted life signals from inside a mysterious chrysalis that has appeared - so they cut open the chrysalis while Grian is still reforming in there

He's goopy (body horror intent)

Main characters: Grian, Scar, Mumbo, Xisuma

Side characters: Hermit ensemble

The Crafting Dead (vine boom sound)

CW: medical torture, zombie apocalypse, captivity

Hermitcraft gets attacked (Watchers?) and lots of hermits are sent off to their own personal hells, with no memories of Hermitcraft

Xisuma has to go find them and bring them home and help them heal and re-introduce them to Hermitcraft and hopefully get their memories back

Scar is our main focus here - he’s stuck in the zombie apocalypse world of The Crafting Dead, where he spent his childhood and teen years before being rescued by Xisuma - now in his 30s, he thinks he’s been stuck there his whole life 

Grian is having a bad time being fledged into a proper Watcher, forced to Watch, since he never escaped

Mumbo's in a cult and might be evil (it's fine. He's fine.) (Lie)

Pearl is roaming the forests with a ghostly wolf, her enemies blood long gone but still fresh on her hands as resources dwindle in a tiny world (Double Life)

Tango is chained like a beast in an underground fighting ring, labelled with a nickname that isn't his and placed in a betting pool with odds stacked highly in his favour (he always wins) (he has to win) (there is no respawn here)

Impulse has been freshly captured and put in the same lineup, odds stacked quite tremendously against him (they don't know what he is) (he could end them all with a snap of his fingers) (don't corner a demon)

Doc is huddled in the corner of a lab he never left, scientist-turned-experiment, taken apart and put back together again different, wrong, as more additions pile onto his growing list of hybridities (they've given him wings, and taken his eye)

Main characters: Scar, Xisuma, Grian, Pearl, Mumbo, Tango, Impulse, Doc

Side characters: Hermit ensemble

Pirate Boatem But Evil And Mean

CW: major character death, cannibalism, ghost stuff

READ THE FIC HERE

Pirate crew Boatem get kicked off their ship and put on a desert island by Captain Scar

Survival cannibalism

Magic / curse ending

Ghost Grian

They go hunt down Scar at the end 

Main characters: Impulse, Grian, Mumbo, Pearl, Scar

Side characters: SKIZZ !!!!

I can be your angel….. Or yuor devil….

CW: religious implications?, also death mentions, body horror

Scar is some guy obsessed with the occult who is part of a ghost hunting team with Impulse Gem and Skizz

He finds Grian, a “fallen angel” and decides to take care of him

Grian is actually a demon sent from the void to find a human and bring it to his masters (the Watchers) for harvesting 

Grian used to be human maybe 

Grian is blindfolded - he claims it is so he doesn't taint his purity with the image of the imperfect world but it is really there because his masters don't want him to see the world and fall in love with it. The void is all he knows

Scar teaches Grian self-worth while Grian slowly turns into an eldritch horror beyond comprehension

Main characters: Grian & Scar

Side characters: Impulse, Skizz, Gem, the Watchers

Monster-Pet AU

CW: dehumanisation, discrimination, medical abuse

Hybrids seen as either free labourers or pets depending on how rare they are

Grian is a Watcher, a very rare type of wild hybrid

He’s been a pet for a long time - taken from his flock and completely changed mentally

They de-clawed my boy, they took his sharp teeth away

One day he wanders away from his owners house by accident and stumbles into Hermitcraft (a free, hybrid-run town)

Healing arc but he struggles very hard to understand he isn't a pet

Pearl, former flockmate-turned-feral Watcher, attacks him when she finds him, reduced to believing any weak flockmate will lead to them being captured again

Main characters: Grian, Scar, Pearl

Side characters: hermit ensemble

Solaris AU

CW: major character death, existential themes, spoilers for Solaris (1972)

Solaris (1972) AU

But with my own added flavour and twists

Scar is Kris Kelvin, Cub and Mumbo are the other two scientists, Grian is the dead wife

Philosophical.

Main characters: Scar, Grian, Mumbo, Cub

Fantasy AU (Kingdoms AU)

MASTERPOST

READ THE FIC HERE

Monster Hunter AU

CW: vampires & blood drinking, unnamed character deaths (many), discrimination

Grian and Mumbo are vampire hunters, part of the Hunter's Guild, dedicated to killing monsters

Dramatic backstory time: Grian's home village was slaughtered by vampires, leaving only orphaned children behind - he has a lot of vampire related trauma and has channeled that into becoming one of the best hunters around

Problem: Mumbo is secretly a vampire

Problem 2: Grian is about to find out

Angst 🙂 lots of it

There are humans, vampires, were(wolves, etc), fair-folk, demons/gorgons/devils, and potionmakers

Main characters: Grian, Mumbo

Side characters: Scar, Cub, Etho, Cleo, Bdubs

Popstar Grian / Ari AU

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Disaster Rescue Team AU

CW: survival cannibalism, systemic discrimination, torture, medical abuse

Scar, Pearl, Skizz, Impulse, Bdubs, Tango, Etho, Cub, and Mumbo are a disaster rescue team who specialise in helping hybrids

Grian is an avian living on a remote island that is destroyed by a storm, and he is trapped there for years until he's the only survivor left, the mainland government ignoring the situation

He's forced to resort to cannibalism to survive, then he's rescued

Scar is the therapist of the group who spends time working with Grian to rehabilitate him

Sadly most of his clients end up in bad situations, going missing, or in prison because the mainland is incredibly discriminatory

There is a government conspiracy happening where hybrids are being taken away after leaving the rescue facility and used for medical or scientific experimentation

Bad things happen to the gang.

Main characters: Scar, Pearl, Skizz, Impulse, Bdubs, Tango, Etho, Mumbo, Cub, Grian

Side characters: Ren :)

The ones who walk away from Omelas AU

CW: torture and abuse, like, a lot of it

Based on the story 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas' but with my own changes, for fun. This is actually one of my faves.

In the city of Omelas, life is perfect - there is no crime, no homelessness, no suffering. It is a Utopia

This Utopia comes at a cost, a single citizen, chosen randomly, must bear the suffering of all others, kept alone, starved and entirely isolated, underground, their whole life

The children of Omelas are shown this suffering early, to get them used to the idea. When they are horrified, they are told about the greater good of this sacrifice.

When Scar is a child, he sees the suffering scapegoat, at the time around his own age, and vows to rescue him one day

Twenty years later, he makes good on that promise

Main characters: Scar, Grian

Side characters: Joel, Impulse, Skizz

City Blues AU

CW: organ harvesting, gang violence, references to drugs

Architect Grian gets fired from his job, and has to move to the bad part of the city for the first time ever. There he is very quickly noted and attacked, but a cunning drug dealer saves him.

He's given a place to stay by the salesman, Scar, but he owes the man. He has to work as an errand boy for a while to earn his freedom.

I mean, how hard could it be?

(it's considerably more difficult when he develops a crush)

(and because everyone in this place wants to get their hands on his kidneys)

Main characters: Scar, Grian

Side characters: Mumbo, Cub, Stress, Iskall, Cleo

Convexian Serial Killers AU

CW: murder, no seriously our protagonists are killers and they get away with it, no moralising here they are just evil little freaks for fun, also cannibalism

Scar and Cub are serial killers who kill while their housemate, Grian, is out working for days on end

Grian happens to come home early one time and finds them mid-kill

After a series of breakdowns and a lot of throwing up, Grian gets kind of into it tbh

He watches the kills (and enjoys taunting the victims) and acts as friendly, harmless bait for other victims

Scar and Cub also introduce him to cannibalism, and he gets a little bit obsessed with trying to hunt down other avians to kill

Scar and Cub are human, while Grian is an avian, and though Scar expresses his love with violent fantasies, they would never hurt Grian

Grian's friends: Mumbo, Jimmy and Pearl, may have a little to say about this when they find out ^-^

Main characters: I just listed them

Side characters: Gem yayyyyy

AAAND THATS IT. I missed quite a few shorter / less dense AU ideas and possibly some bigger ones I have forgotten. Oops if so.

Remember, if you wanna know more about any of these, please send an ask, and specify which AU youre asking about obviously! If you read this far I am honestly shocked at your ability to put up with That Many scarian ideas.

Also feel free to riff on any of these if one stands out to you as interesting. I love hearing / seeing other people's interpretations of my stuff :D

[silverscreenlipstick]

helluva boss rants #3: blitzø, hero amongst men.

so, as the entirety of the fandom has probably established, blitzø, the main character of helluva boss who has so much hatred for himself that he even tries to cross out the last letter of his name.

our deeply troubled and misunderstood protagonist. i love him so dearly. he is so important to so many for so many reasons.

this character is not only deeply traumatised, but covered in guilt and absolute spite for himself. he draws himself out of pictures of his loved ones, that’s how much.

as established, one main focus (if not, the main focus) of the entire show is his relationship with prince stolas of the ars goetia. someone so royally and upper class wants to be with him? no, something must be wrong. so rather than admitting to himself that he has fallen for stolas, and stolas has fallen for him, he much rather cover all of that love with frustration. he cannot bear someone like stolas loving him.

he never could. it is a difficulty he has within himself that he needs to open up for.

something blitz will never understand though is that, although seeming antagonistic at times (god forbid, he’s having realistic emotions and reactions!), he is the main hero of this story.

starting off with maybe his earliest - stolas. as a kid, being guilt tripped into stealing from a mighty prince of hell doesn’t really make you think huh, how did he save him?

it begins as soon as he shows stolas the world outside of books and a fun, kindred spirit stolas aspires to be, who lets him be a free bird (pun absolutely intended).

later on, we get to see the two reunited. and for the exact same reasons. blitz is there to steal an important artefact from stolas, but in the meantime, saves him from the horrid and toxic relationship he has with his deranged wife. he sets him free once again, and this time, to the fullest.

next up is moxxie. we get to see the start of their relationship when blitz asks for moxxie’s help to break out of jail. moxxie smiles at him after having cried about the betrayal of a loved one and his father.

blitz caused him to never look back - to never go back - and without him, he would’ve never gotten to meet millie, have the life he has now. he saved moxxie.

loona is super important to this too. blitz, who is already painted in self-hatred, decides officially to adopt loona, a seventeen year old hellhound as his daughter.

he sees herself immediately in her - lashing out at others although she doesn’t mean it - issues controlling emotions - upset about herself. and he protects her with all that he has and saves her from having become a lost cause.

to me, he is the hero of this story. i hope he eventually sees himself this way, too. :)

[sleepy-the-loz-enthusiast]

"Closer" for the prompt game! With any LU character you want :D

Fhfhahx thank you for the ask-

It's no secret that the Chain were an affectionate bunch. Whether it be a pat on the shoulder or a brief side hug after a tough battle, certain people- (cough- Wind- cough)- taking a liking to using the others as pillows, or even the way that they all huddled around the campfire telling tales from their adventures.

For some, this was enough; afterall, their adventures left no room for tenderness. No room to cry on a familiar shoulder after a rough day.

No... their adventures had been a nonstop barrage of pain, fighting, running around, and being just a puppet of the gods. It'd be surprising if the Link hadn't come out severely traumatised, especially considering the Goddess' liking for sending children out to fight her battles (Sky begs to differ, but most of them agree).

One adventure is more enough to send someone into a trauma induced depression. Just imagine the effect of six...

Oh, wait, you don't need to. That's reality for the poor Veteran Hero. On the surface, it's easy to brush him off as just a cold, prickly jerk. Quick to anger and slow to trust, the kind of guy who picks fights with anyone who looks at him wrong.

He has a face that keeps people at arms length, and an attitude that sends them running. Or so many people think.

The reality is that his years of being a puppet have left his body and soul to be torn apart, leaving behind a scared child in the body of a man who had to grow up too fast. There's only one person he trusts anymore, who's proven that he'll stay despite whatever tragedy he thinks will befall anyone he loves, and that's Ravio. The only person who looks beyond his glaring and holds him close despite the thorns.

But... Ravio isn't here on this journey. He's safely at home, where Legend wishes he could be. He has nothing against his new companions- hell, he'd take a fatal blow for any of them- but a few bad encounters in the beginning has taught them to stay away.

He'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt.

But... it's too late now. Oh, how he wishes it wasn't. How he wishes the only touches he got wasn't when the Captain ruffles his hair. How he wishes he could be closer to his companions- no, brothers. The closest he's ever gotten was when he'd fallen asleep on Hyrule's shoulder, but that ended when he was woken with hurried apologies.

But Legend would sooner die than admit to his desire for love. For a warm hug. For the ability to snuggle up to Sky.

For the courage to be closer.

I'm not sure if this is what you wanted, but uh yeah- have a traumatised and touch starved Legend !!

[invested-in-your-future]

"I don’t know, Jaune. She’s too dead to tell us that, isn’t she?”

“But, please, tell me what you think she would say if you can somehow talk to the dead, Jaune.”

Okay, with all due respect, what the hell were these OOC lines? Ruby would never drag Pyrrha's name and fate through mud like that, given how guilty she feels for not saving her. What was that about?

The only way I could remotely comprehend these words is that Ruby is so tormented and anguished by Pyrrha's death and the weight of the events she bottled up that Jaune's reaction (and the way he said what would Pyrrha say were she still alive) triggered Ruby to act on desperation. And that a part of her for a moment wanted to hurt Jaune for this.

But if anything Ruby would bulldoze anyone who'd dare to speak this way of Pyrrha.

It's exactly why it makes her snap out of it momentarily.

This is the first time she gets to voice her frustrations in months and it's misguided and angry and unlike herself. She doesn't know whom to direct those feelings towards and Jaune just challenged the one thing she has clung to since what happened at Beacon - the journey becomes meaningless to her.

In her eyes in that moment Jaune is betraying Pyrrha - what she says to Jaune is ironic because she's doing the exact thing she lashed out - projecting what she thinks is the right way to honour Pyrrha onto others.

Especially ironic being the communicating with the dead part since Ruby has been doing nothing but talking to ghosts in her dreams.

There's an almost instant moment of regret right after because she realizes - She's hurting a friend who means well and she's disrespecting a fallen hero she spent months almost deifying in her thoughts.

It's completely unlike how she would normally act and she knows that, even though she can't let go of the feeling Jaune is wrong.

I don't think she herself expected to react like this but she wanted to release that pent up frustration and it happened in a way she didn't want because she applied verbally what she has been doing with her fighting for a while now.

It's not unusual for traumatised or grieving people to act out in ways that don't quite fit them.

We have seen parts of this after Penny died in v3, but Ruby didn't have any way to vent her frustrations for months now and convinced herself this journey could be something it wasn't.

Within rewrite we have also seen moments where her issues with her temper surface like in the village or with Nora.

Ruby would absolutely bulldoze anyone who spoke that way about Pyrrha (or acted that way towards Jaune overall no matter the topic) - it's just that in this case that "anyone" ended up being Ruby herself.

Doesn't exactly help her with her self-doubts and trying to fight back a creeping sense of nihilism.

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Ayo pls do write this if you can, I've yet to see this happen in literally any fic:

MAKE ME CRY MY EYES OUT CATANA

“You stay right behind us, kid,” the villain had said, smirking at their sidekick with full confidence. The end of the world wasn’t supposed to be a personal issue that depended on the villain’s relationships. But apparently it did.

The protection of their sidekick was their priority. For someone so young, they were witty and funny. They were clever and annoying. The villain loved them like their own sibling. Someone who was just as fucked up as them, just as traumatised and hurt. And somewhere there, they could heal each other with jokes and the dream of another future.

It wasn’t like the kid had changed them but…somehow, they had made them a better person.

They’d been so sure. So incredibly sure they were invincible with the hero beside them. Finally fighting together, having each other’s backs — the villain’s and hero’s powers being perfected to a point that let them fight in sync with grace and a simplicity that made them feel oh so secure. It was heaven.

The hero was a reliable ally, a strong one that made the villain wonder how on earth they were enemies. When they fought like this, the villain felt somewhat complete. In combat, they were made for each other and the villain had enjoyed every second of it.

Both protected the villain’s sidekick whenever the situation got out of hand and both shielded each other when it started to look rough.

They’d never felt anything like this before. A connection that made them think they were soulmates. They felt so…strong. Letting them hope they could actually beat this ancient threat.

No wonder the villain had been cocky once the supervillain was their last standing enemy. A snarky comment was all they’d managed as they’d looked around the destruction of the city, ready to kick some ass.

But as it turned out, the supervillain was obsessed with the villain and apparently, they were ready to sacrifice the world to prove it.

In a last sick attempt at controlling the villain, they’d laugh-screamed their demands into the night. They’d destroy themselves and with that, this planet if the villain didn’t kill one of them. Their sidekick or their hero.

Which led them to this. An impossible decision.

“What?” the villain asked. Their voice died somewhere along the word, breaking when they least expected it. A moment ago, everything had been fine. Everything had gone according to their plan.

The supervillain’s expression wasn’t mad. It was calm. Cold. Like a salesman talking about a deal.

“I need you to kill one of them.” The villain’s head whipped around, their gaze boring into their sidekick and then their beloved hero. Both terrified beyond measure, both not sure on what the villain would decide.

Hell, not even the villain knew if they were actually going to decide.

“You’re insane.”

“Your precious hero is your only chance to save this world. And your sidekick? Like a sibling to you. So, what are you choosing? The world that always resented you? Or the family you found?”

“I will kill you,” the villain said, promised it but there was little weight to it. The supervillain could kill all of them easily. But they toyed with the villain, made them decide something like this just to see them suffer.

“Destroys the whole planet,” the supervillain said. “I’ll turn myself in after one of them is dead. Choose.”

“No.”

“I have killed thousands here, millions on other planets. I can kill these two for you, if you want to.”

“No.” The villain looked back at the hero and they realised how much they were panting, how much they were sweating.

“It’s okay,” the hero said. Fucking liar. “You can kill me, it’s alright.”

They took a step forward and the villain took one back, afraid that if they touched them, the hero would wilt. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening.

“I know you can find a way to beat them. You don’t need me for this,” the hero said. “It’s alright.”

“No,” the villain repeated for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Their heart was beating in their throat as panic got a grip on them and squeezed until all their adrenaline was gone.

“Choose,” the supervillain urged them. “You have one minute.”

The villain’s eyes widened and they wanted to sob. No, this couldn’t be real. This was a dream, some nightmare they couldn’t get under control.

The tears came without a command. With a blurred vision, they stared at their sidekick, a 17-year-old.

“I can’t,” the villain said, nearly wheezed the words. “I can’t do this.”

“Come on, show me what you are,” the supervillain said. They leaned back on the throne they had built out of ash and destroyed concrete. “30 seconds.”

“I don’t have a family,” the sidekick said suddenly. “You’ve been the only one in my life that has been kind to me. But so many others do have one. You have to save these people.”

It hurt. It fucking hurt to hear this. To look into the kid’s eyes and see the pain and the fear and yet, they decided to be brave and do a heroic thing.

“Please,” the villain said. They looked back at the supervillain. “Please, I am begging you. Don’t make me do this. I can’t do this. This is…this is madness.”

“Ten seconds.”

Suddenly, the sidekick grabbed their wrist and pulled them towards them.

“Do it. I want it.” The villain shook their head frantically.

“Please—” Everything was blurry.

“For once in your life, be a goddamn hero. I’ll stay with you until it’s over,” the sidekick promised but there were tears in their eyes. A yearning for a long and good life, for a family and a future that was worth something. The villain squeezed their eyes shut but the sidekick wasn’t planning on giving up that easily.

They looked at the shocked hero who was definitely going to sacrifice themselves at any given moment. However, the sidekick was faster.

“Take care of them, will you?” they asked the hero.

And with that, they gave the villain their own dagger, hands closed around the villain’s as the metal broke clothes and skin, opened flesh and gnawed on bone in a cruel, horrible way that woke up the villain from nightmares decades later.

[most-canon-non-canon-ship-poll]

they are so cringe

Why Kataang is shit - a submission-based essay

Kataang - a canon het ship from the Avatar: the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra fandoms between Katara and Aang

Do you fancy your babysitter? Does she not like you back? Don't worry, if you kiss her without her consent enough times, eventually she'll come around! Throughout the show, Katara is cooks, cleans, does general chores on behalf of the group, including Aang. She is also primarily responsible for talking him down from fits of wrath (understandable fits of wrath: he's a traumatised 12 year old with godlike powers) and putting herself in harms way in order to calm him. He's also incredibly dismissive of her culture at times, and disregards her feelings when they don't align with his view of the world. SPEAKING OF WHICH he completely ignores her when she explicitely says that she does not want to talk about his feelings for her, and then kisses her without her consent (again). He not only never apologieses for this, but it is never brought up again! She just wanders over him after the battle is finished and kisses him and THAT'S THAT I GUESS?!?!?!!! THEN we get into post-canon stuff. The main cast are really out there doing the most: founding cities, ruling nations, etc... with the exception of Katara. What is Katara in the future? The Katara who was the first woman to be trained in combat-bending by the Masters of the North simply because she Would Not Shut Up until they trained her? The Katara who said she would never turn her back on people who need her? That Katara? She's a wife and mother now and that keeps her very busy. To be honest I haven't read most of the comics because they're famously awful and even Kataang fans don't like a lot of them. it's offensive when a female character exists only as a trophy for the main guy to win, but it's doubly insulting when that female character has so many layers and so much complexity, only to turn into the shiny trophy with no autonomy when she kisses the hero like some kind of awful reverse Princess and the Frog. FURTHERMORE if you look at Katara's utlisation (or lack thereof) in The Legend of Korra, she doesn't do anything!! Of the Gaang members who are still alive, she's the only one who never gets involved in the adventures, which considering that the plot of Season 1 hinges around a water-bender specific power that she has a personal connection to (and even the in the FLASHBACKS to 40 years previously she does not appear). It's very funny to me because a lot of Kataang fans will say "oh Katara did keep working as an adult, she got bloodbending banned!!" and this is brought out as that one thing she did, yet IN A WHOLE SEASON ABOUT BLOODBENDING she does absolutely nothing besides being unable to heal Korra, so that Aang's spirit has to turn up and do it for her. Then Season 2 is about the Water Tribes and involves the hostile takeover of the city in which she lives, but apparently she's not keen on getting involved in that either!! And look, I can't PROVE that this is directly linked to the ship, but it sure looks suspicious to me when taken with previous evidence. And don't even get me started on the fans holy hell. Like, it's perfectly fine to have ships with problematic elements (don't we all) but they truly will bend over BACKWARDS to say that there's nothing wrong with the ship OR the way it went down in canon and that they're the Pure and Wholesome ship, standing in opposition to the Evil Colonizing Zutaras. Even suggesting that hey, might it have been better if they'd taken some time apart to really grow as individuals and then gotten together in their twenties---instead of at 12 and 14 without ever fixing the mother/child dynamic or talking about the time he sexually assaulted her---will be met with outright hosility by certain members of the fandom.

[atla-confessions]

I like Iroh as a character, not because he’s some great hero with noble intentions or something like that, but because he’s an assumed hypocrite with so much inherited wealth, power and privilege and because he knows he severely fucked up trough his life and is now trying to be better (while also still somehow failing)

like yeah ! I totally agree that he’s no saint and that’s why I freaking love his character. he’s an asshole, and the fact that the show puts more emphasis on Zuko & Azula antagonistic character traits rather than on the retired war veteran that killed maybe even more people than his evil brother is so funny to me

and I also think that he didn’t help that much in Zuko’s development and self discovery, I seriously think that he sometimes even held him back from being better or improving. which makes their whole dynamic even more interesting. (especially in season 1 ! there’s such an obvious conflict between Iroh biased way of life marked by 40 years of living as a monarch clashing with his stupid idiotic nephew ways of living marked by trauma, being without a home, with no paternal/maternal guidance, years of abuse and the fact that he's a big fat asshole and a jerk to pretty much everyone. I freaking love this specific Iroh/Zuko dynamic)

and while the fandom will always (rightfully) bash Ozai for the scum bag he is and the absolute dogshit parent he is, I do also sincerely think that Iroh failed BOTH Zuko & Azula. like that man straight up ableist towards Azula and had such a big biases towards her. he hated a freaking 14 yo child as if she were some kind of hell spawned monster. and on the other hand he just ran away from his responsibility after the war, letting his 16 yo nephew with the big ass responsibility of rebuilding a whole nation perverted by 100 years of propaganda and war. cuz who seriously thought that letting a traumatised child on the throne of the fire nation with absolutely no idea on how to even be a ruler would be a good idea ? like yeah, let’s put the mentally unstable 16 yo on the throne of a nation that will try everything to get rid of him in the future !

and “iroh loves zuko like his son” is funny to me too cuz that man sure as hell doesn't love strongly and apparently did not love him enough to step in between him and his father as he was melting Zuko’s face, i guess.

his whole character is a joke on itself and i freaking love him for that. oh Iroh the hypocrite you are, and how i would just love to see more of his internal turmoil regarding his past actions.

X